a new church planter, a redhead, and a yellow lab in kansas city

Sunflower September and Ole Miss October

Wow! It has surely been a while since we (Kristi and the voices in her head) have taken the time to sit down to blog. Andy was supposed to take a blogging turn, but his schedule got a little busy.

Let’s see…I have to look at my cell phone pictures to be able to tell you what has been happening around these parts. It serves as a diary of sorts. Some people choose to call what I am about to do as a “Cell Phone Dump”. That is just not an attractive term to me. I think I shall call it a “Cell Phone Picture Release”.

Tulsa

On Labor Day weekend, we drove to Tulsa to see some dear friends. One of my besties, Lahoma, was visiting her son and daughter-in-law and grandbaby girl. When I found out she was headed west, I told Andy, “I am going to see Lahoma in Oklahoma.” We had been hoping to travel to see Jay and Ashley anyway because we have loved them since the youth group years. So, off we went on a 3 ½ hour road trip. Ashley and Jay were gracious hosts, and we had a blast! Andy was once again a baby whisperer while we all shopped for boots. Ron Mabry was the only one who scored a pair, and he wasn’t even there!

Ashley made a fabulous dinner one night, and I found a similar recipe online to try at home. The secret is Dave’s Gourmet Butternut Squash Sauce (Target or Costco). Why make your own sauce when you can buy such deliciousness?? Here is the recipe:

Another adventure in September was to travel to the Lawrence, Kansas area to view the sunflower patch. Gorgeous. Something like 60 acres or so on a family farm. There were probably 70 to 100 other people in the field with us that day trying to get pictures, but you cannot see them because the field was so vast. I won’t tell you which Murry was a little uncomfortable walking around the field with all the various bugs flying around. I will tell you I am the spider killer at our house. Wink.

Groovy Grant

We had a fun visit from a former youth ministry student, Grant, and his fiancé and friends. They spent a couple of nights with us as they were celebrating the wedding of friends in Lawrence, Kansas. Totally strange to be sitting across the room from the bearded, Man-Grant and remembering the Sixth Grade Boy-Grant. Amazing! We enjoyed our short visit with these guys, and they blessed us by praying for us and over us. Warmed Andy Murry’s heart to see this group whole-heartedly pursuing Jesus and His ways.

Ra the Restaurant

Then I found out about a local restaurant that had Bento boxes on the menu. I have wanted to try one for a while now…just for the experience of such an orderly meal. The food was okay, but it had mad organizational skills.

I SEE A IKEA (terrible grammar, but it rhymes)

Along came a little store known as IKEA. It is located in Merriam, which also the city where Vertical Church happens to meet. We stayed away for a while because of the crowds. Andy and I took our chances one Thursday night because I really wanted to try the dinner there. Dinner is a process. You grab a cart and trays.

You must pass the dessert first- kinda hard to resist. The chocolate cake was yummy, but we didn’t love the apple pie.

We chose Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy with ligonberry sauce and chicken strips/fries for our entrees. Glad we did it, but I don’t have to go back.

After going downstairs to the warehouse portion of the building, we started smelling cinnamon. Mmmm. After you make your purchases and check out, there is a snack bar. Fresh cinnamon rolls were being boxed and iced. We bought one for $1. ‘Twas as big as my hand and fit nicely in my belly.

Pumpkins
These fun pumpkins were outside the local Hen House grocery store. I have never seen so many varieties.

Oxford
Ole Miss football is making people happy this year, and we wanted to be part of the action. A and I were able to get away for 51 hours one weekend in October to drive to Oxford and attend the game. BG and Sue rock. They let us stay at the condo and give us tickets and let us hang out with them. Delayne cooked fabulous foods, and the tables under the tents were overflowing. Katy Perry even came…to the Grove. I have never seen the place so packed. If you have never visited Ole Miss on a football Saturday, please put it on your Bucket List. The Smiths and the Murrys would love to show you around sometime.

These awesome cakes were in a nearby tent. Scott and Lindsey (who are engaged) saw them and made a quick detour into said tent to inquire about the baker for Scott’s groom’s cake. We caught up with old and new friends. Jennifer made her way across the throngs of people to say hello. So great to see her! We had a ball, and a win over Alabama didn’t hurt my feelings.

KC

The next weekend, I attended a speech conference downtown at our hospital. Had to be there early, so I caught the sunrise.

Here is a picture from one our speech and hearing clinics downtown- just beautiful. My managers and coworkers have this view daily from the 8th floor of the Broadway building. I want to go back to visit when the leaves are in full transition and later when it starts to snow. What a view!

Courtney and Cody
Our sweet friends brought this back from their month long tour of Europe.

Yumm! So thoughtful. I highly recommend Courtney’s blog. She shares tips on how to pack and choose and rotate outfits. Their pictures are stunning. If you have a hankering to travel Europe, please take a look!

Andy was kind enough to purchase a variety of cakes for the birthday. Salted caramel was my favorite. I say CAR-A-MEL. The Kansas and Missouri people say CAR-MUL. Who is right?

Grill Cake

Look at this cake my high school friend, Andrea Mehler Delony made! What?? She is in Southaven if you need a cake- BabyCakes Bake Shoppe. Find her on Facebook.

Pie Five

Kristyn told us about this new place near Sam’s Club. A and I were running lots of errands last Friday night prior to a church event on Saturday and our second preview service on Sunday, so we decided to stop for a quick bite. It is like Subway or Chipotle or Freebirds, but for pizza and salad. You are able to order custom pizza and salad. Andy and I split this little combo plus a drink for $9.99. That’s what I’m talking about.

I Want to Make This

That is all.

Grown-Up Cubbies

Andy Murry and I both carry lots of things to and from work. On a typical day, I have a large purse, lunch bag, Tervis Tumbler, and work bag. Andy carries a backpack and water bottle and other knick-knack-paddywacks. We also tend to let our mail pile up before we have a chance to go through it. These habits were making for bigger piles in the living room on the table or edge of the sofa, which made me unhappy. You know what made me happy? Big baskets from Target! I call them our Cubbies. We can now throw everything in these containers and decrease the clutter until we have a moment to deal with the “stuff”. There are even little chalkboard slots where I could write our names if I so chose. Brilliant!

RSI

I have a condition. Diagnosed myself. Mouse elbow, they call it. Too much clicking of the computer mouse- filling out surveys, looking at pics on Facebook, completing checklists on reports at work. It all contributes to Repetitive Stress Injury. My wrist, elbow, and shoulder hurt because I use the computer all day, and because I have poor ergonomics at the home computer station. I like that word-ergonomics. I use it to express my frustration sometimes- ERRRR-gonomics!! If you try it, you might like it.

Please let us know about your fall adventures. 🙂

Miss and love your faces, voices, laughter, and friendship! Hope to see you in the Southaven/Memphis/Oxford areas around Thanksgiving. Go Rebs!